KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Malaysian Control Center of the Federal Police Headquarters Wednesday confirmed that 64 people had died in the tsunami that hit the country's coastal states on Sunday.

    A spokesman of the center told local reporters that of the total, Penang State had the highest fatalities at 50, followed by Kedah State (10), Perak State (three) and Selangor State (one).

    The spokesman said the number of people reported missing in Penang had risen to eight while Kedah had three and Perlis one.

    The number of those injured remained at 183, including 108 in Penang, 72 in Kedah and three in Perak.

    The tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake in Indian Ocean near Indonesian island of Sumatra Sunday, struck several states onthe country's west coast and Penang and Kedah states were the worst hit.

    According to press reports here, some 5,000 coastal residents have been evacuated in disaster-stricken states of Kedah and Penang.

    The several search teams were still continuing operations Wednesday to look for victims who were still missing.

Enditem